FATE Core vs. The Kalyr RPG

Now that FATE Core is out there, I’m wondering what to do with the FATE-based game I’ve had in the works for ages. It’s been on the back-burner of late, but maybe now is the time to pick up the project again.

For those of you unfamiliar with the project, the game is optimised for play-by-post rather than tabletop gaming, and as such some of the mechanics are streamlined and simplified. The setting comes from my long-running science-fantasy game I’ve been running online for years, heavily influenced by the novels of Jack Vance, amongst others.

The most significant changes are:

No Stunts. I’ve got a few tweaks to the skill system to allow for things like specialisations, and slightly expanded the role of Aspects.

Combat used the old Fudge-style simultaneous rounds rather than the alternate rounds of more recent builds of Fate, resulting in combat that’s round-based rather than turn-based. I find this works better for asynchronous play across multiple time zones.

No stress tracks. Losing a round in combat goes straight through to consequences. This speeds up combat, which would otherwise be too slow.

FATE Core has redefined a lot of game terms, for example, “Manoeuvres” have become “Create an Advantage”, and the game text needs to be revised to be consistent with this.

At the moment I’m keeping the simultaneous combat rounds and lack of stress tracks. Stunts on the other hand, I’m still not completely sure about. Early drafts included Stunts, later drafts removed them (Awesome Adventures was an influence here). FATE Core, along with every other FATE game I’ve read with the exception of Awesome Adventures, makes Stunts an important part of the game, which makes me think I ought to revisit this decision. Again.